Protecting unit for high-tension electric systems.



H. W. YOUNG PROTECTING UNIT FOR HIGH TENSION ELECTRIC SYSTEMS.

' APPLICATION FILED FEB. 2a. 1913.

1,177,841. E 1 Patented Apr. 4,1916.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HERBERT W. YOUNG, 'OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO DELTA-STAR ELECTRIC COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

PROTECTING UNIT FOR HIGH-TENSION ELECTRIC SYSTEMS,

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 4, 1916.

Application filed February 28, 1913. Serial No. 751,241.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HERBERT IV. YOUNG, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook, in the State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Protecting Units for HiglrTension Electric Systems, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to protecting units for high tension electric systems and has for its object the provision of a complete device to be installed between the incoming line and the transformer or other translating device, by which device an overload may be removed by the opening of a fuse, and by which surges or static disturbances which would endanger or cause injury to the load devices may be discharged or given a relief path to earth, thus clearing the line automatically and localizing the trouble rather than endeavoring to keep in operation with a possible spreading to the entire network of a relatively minor disturbance.

It is another object of this invention to produce such a unitary protecting device of very simple construction and arrangement, and one which can be produced at a very low cost.

It is another object of this invention to improve devices of this type in sundry details hereinafter pointed out.

The means by which I have accomplished this result are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and are hereinafter specifically described. That which I believe to be new iS, Set forth in the claims.

In the drawings :Figure 1 is a perspective view of my preferred form of construction; Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a modified form of construction; and Fig. 3 is a detail View, showing a slight modification in the construction shown in Fig. 2.

Referring to Fig. 1, 10 indicates a base in the form of a channel iron adapted to be secured upon a cross-arm or other suitable supporting part. 11 indicates an insulator mounted upon the base 1.0, supporting a terminal in the form of a socket 12 to which the incoming line carrying a high voltage current is adaptedto be connected. 13 indicates a bus-bar electrically connected at its upper end to the socket 12 and supported by the insulator 11, said bus-bar, in the construction shown, being led with a plurality of sharp turns to an insulator 1 1 depending from the base 10, the lower end of said busthe insulator 15, upon which insulator 18 is mounted a bus-bar 19, the outer end of which is connected by means of a fuse 20,0f any suitable type, to the outer and upper end of the bus-bar 17. 21 indicates another insulator mounted upon the base 10 having mounted upon it a terminal in the form of a socket 22 to which is connected the end of one of the load circuit wires 23. 241 indicates a choke-coil electrically connecting the inner end of the bus-bar 19 to the socket 22. 2526 indicate horns, one mounted upon the insulator 18 and electrically connected with the bus-bar 19 and the choke-coil 24 and the other mounted upon the base 10, said horns 2526 being separated from each other, the horn 26 being preferably adjustable toward and from the horn 25. 2'728 indicate pins mounted in the horns 2526, respectively, said pins being adjustable toward and from each other whereby the efiective gap between the horns 2526 may bev adjusted in addition to the adjustment secured by moving the horns. 29 indicates a terminal in the form of a socket mounted upon the horn 26 to which is adapted to be connected a ground wire or other suitable means for grounding said horn 26.

It will be understood that by the devices above described the socket 12 is electrically connected with the socket 22 so that the normal current passes from the point 12 to the point 22 without hindrance. When, however, a surge or static disturbance occurs upon the incoming circuit, the incoming wave or surge. is first retarded or damped by the several turns of the circuit through the bus-bar 13, the switch 16, the bus-bar 17, the fuse 20 and the bus-bar 19. After passing this path, the surge encounters the large choke-coil 24 which deflects it in the well understood manner to the horn gap between the pins ZT28, the result being that the wave breaks across to the horn 26 which in use is grounded, as above described. The are caused by the break of the wave across the horn gap immediately rises and ruptures on the diverging arms of the horns, the speed of movement of the are being accelerated by the blowing or magnetic turning efiect of the choke-coil field. Ordinarily the arc is so rapidly extinguished and the current to ground so quickly interrupted that the fuse 20 does not rupture, but in cases of extremely heavy current flow continuing for an appreciable len th of time the fuse ruptures thus opening the circuit.

Inasmuch as the horns and pins 27-28 are adjustable toward each other the horn gap can be set so as to become efiective at any predetermined voltage.

lVhen the fuse 20 has been ruptured it can be readily replaced without danger upon the opening of the knife-switch 16.

In Fig. 2 I show a modification of the form shown in Fig. 1. In this figure the parts which correspond to the parts of the construction shown in Fig. 1 are indicated by the same reference characters, but with the addition of the exponent a. In the modified construction the bus-bars l7 and 19 and the fuse 20 of the construction of Fig. l are replaced by a bus-bar 30 which connects the end of the switch 16 and the end of the choke-coil 24. A fuse 31 is then inserted in the circuit between the chokecoil 24- and the wire 23 leading to the load, an insulator 32 being added to support the end or" the fuse 31. In the modified construction the horn 26 has an insulating plate 33 inserted between it and the base 10 whereby the said horn 26 and the ground wire 34: are insulated from the base 10, the fuse 35 being inserted between the wire 34 and the horn 26*.

By the use of the modified construction not only can the horns themselves be adjusted through the pins 27 28 to regulate the voltage necessary for breaking over the horn gap, but the current passing to the ground through the horn 26- is also limited by the use of the fuse 35 in this portion of the circuit, which fuse, of course, is ruptured upon the passage of a certain ln'edetermined maximum current. By the use of the two fuses 31 and 35 the system is fully protected against any possible damage through an overload current.

Fig. 3 illustrates amodification of the form shown in Fig. 2. In this construction the horn 26 is mounted upon a base l0 with an insulating plate 33 interposed be tween them, a resistance 36 being interposed between the ground wire 34 and the horn 26. The resistance 36, of course, serves to limit the flow of the current to the ground in the ordinary manner.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is,

1. The combination of a base, a choke coil mounted thereon, a terminal for a highvoltage line-wire, circuitous bus-bar connections between said terminal and said choke coil adapted to retard a high-frequency surge from said line, and a shunt ground from the juncture of said bus-bar with the choke coil comprising a suitable air gap.

2. The combination of a base, a choke coil mounted thereon, a terminal for a. high voltage line-wire, circuitous bus-bar connections between said terminal and said choke coil adapted to retard a high-frequency surge from said line, a horn connected in shunt relation to said choke coil and said bus-bar connections, a second horn spaced a short distance from said firstnamed horn, and connections between said horn and a suitable ground.

3. The combination of a base, a choke coil and a terminal for a high-voltage line-wire supported above said base at a distancefrom each other, a downwardly-opening switch below said base and supported therefrom, bus-bar connections extending about said base from the poles of said switch to the choke coil and the terminal respectively, and a shunt ground from the juncture of the bus-bar with the choke coil comprising a suitable air gap adjacent to the end of the choke coil and substantially in alinement therewith.

i. The combination of a base, a choke coil and a terminal for a high-voltage line-wire supported above said base at a distance from ich other, a downwardly-opening switch below said base and supported therefrom, bus-bar connections extending about said base from the poles of said switch to the choke coil and the terminal respectively, a horn connected in shunt relation to said choke coil and the bus-bar connected thereto, a second horn spaced a short distance from said first-named horn on the side thereof away from said choke coil, and connections between said second horn and a suitable ground.

HERBERT w. YOUNG. lVitnesses 2 lV. H. De BUsK, lV. A. FURNNER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patent:

Washington, D. C. 

